Wanderings
by OceanCrush
Summary: Freddie Benson's life was perfect. He thought he had everything, including his relationship with Sam Puckett, all figured out. He should've remembered two crucial things: Nothing is ever easy to figure out with Sam Puckett & she doesn't stay. She wanders.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** [Insert witty disclaimer here. I don't own iCarly.]

The room was dark, save for the slivers of moonlight that seeped through the blinds and the light that emanated from his computer screen. The room was quiet except for the muffled sounds of Freddie's roommate snoring in the next room through the thin apartment walls. Freddie stared absentmindedly at his screen. He wasn't sure when he'd done it. He had no recollection of it, but somehow he'd ended up on the iCarly website. He found himself watching the last webshow they'd done before he and Carly had left for college.

He paused the video on Sam, an insane grin on her face as she waved at the camera.

That had been exactly twenty-four hours before she'd broken up with him. He wondered, as he often did, if she'd known it then. He wondered if she'd been planning it all along. If she had been, she'd done a great job of hiding it…of acting like she wasn't planning on ending things between them and then essentially disappearing.

He found his lips curling into a somewhat sad smile as he stared at the screen. She seemed happy. She seemed happy with him. Maybe it was naïve, but he thought they would last. He figured that after all they'd been through, they would make the whole distance thing work. He figured she wanted that. He figured she wanted them…him. But she had had other plans.

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm leaving Seattle," she said matter-of-factly.<em>

_Sam and Freddie were on the fire escape, sitting lazily in the old tattered blue camping chairs they kept there. It'd become their thing to sit out there on warm nights. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they sat in silence, just staring out at the familiar Seattle skyline. _

_Tonight they talked. Sam sat with her legs outstretched over Freddie's lap. He absentmindedly drummed on her thighs._

"_What do you mean?" Freddie asked taken aback._

_It was a few days before Carly and Freddie were leaving for their freshman year of college; Carly to NYU and Freddie to MIT. They'd tried their hardest to get Sam to apply somewhere, anywhere, but she refused. 'College isn't for mama,' she'd said simply. They tried and tried, but she never budged. Eventually they let it go. When Freddie asked her what she planned to do instead, she replied plainly, 'Don't worry about it, nub.' He didn't understand why she was being so nonchalant about it all or why she expected him to not care. This was her life she was seemingly throwing away and he was her boyfriend. He didn't get it. He didn't get her. But there was one thing he did get about her, and that was that she didn't respond well to being pushed…so he didn't. He assumed she would hang around Seattle, maybe take up a few courses at the community college nearby._

_He'd thought wrong._

"_I said I'm leaving Seattle, Freddison. Are you hard of hearing or what?" she joked._

"_But, where are you going?" _

"_Nowhere. Everywhere," she replied as she stared out at the sparkling Seattle skyline._

"_What does that even mean?" Freddie asked, now growing strangely anxious._

"_For someone who's going to MIT you're rather stupid, Freddork."_

"_Sam, where are you going?" he asked, the anxiousness in his voice now highly apparent._

_Upon noticing his worry, Sam straightened herself up and removed her legs from his lap._

"_I'm traveling. I've always wanted to have real Texas BBQ, so I figure I'll hit up Texas. I've got an uncle down in Alabama who's a pig farmer. A pig farmer! How sweet is that? He grows pigs for bacon. Never met him before, but I'll probably stop there. Oh and did you know they have this restaurant in New Mexico where they make the worlds biggest tacos? Actually, the owner of the restaurant is in the Jonas Book of World Records for world's biggest taco ever. How awesome is that?" Sam rambled, a glint and a childlike fervor in her eyes._

"_You're travelling aimlessly around the country for BBQ, bacon, and the world's biggest taco?" Freddie asked incredulously._

"_Well, kind of…but not really. Melanie is going to school out in D.C. so I'll be there for a while and-" she paused as if about to say something more, a nervous look now taking over her previous excitement._

"_I just have a lot of things I want to see ok? Seattle is boring," she finished._

"_Sam, how are you doing this? Who are you going with? Wha-?" Freddie began rambling._

"_You know the doctor my mom's been dating for the past few months, well he really is a doctor. I know, crazy right? Well, he gave me some money as a graduation gift. I'm gonna use that and then just take the train or a bus everywhere. Oh and I'm not going with anyone. Why would I go with anyone?"_

"_Sam, what are you talking about? Of course you can't just go travelling all over the country by yourself with nothing but some graduation money in your pocket. You-"_

_Sam cut him off, a different, more determined glint now in her eyes._

"_Mama can take of herself, Fredward. Trust me. I've spent most of my life doing it. I've got this."_

"_Sam, but…but what about…" Freddie paused, as if caught on the words he was about to say. It'd been in the back of his mind since they'd graduated. He had long comforted himself with the knowledge that she would be in Seattle and, when he was back in town, they could just pick up where they'd left off._

_Yet again, he'd clearly thought wrong._

"_What about what, Freddifer?" she asked, slightly annoyed._

_Freddie stared determinedly at the concrete of the fire escape, avoiding Sam's eyes._

"_Us…" he finally said, still not looking at her._

_Sam was silent. Freddie looked up and saw that she was no longer looking at him. She turned her head away and was once again looking at the Seattle skyline._

"_Maybe we should just...ya know…" her voice grew quiet._

"_Break-up?" Freddie asked. Though he said the words easily, he could feel the lump in his throat growing and the heavy weight now forming in the pit of his stomach._

"_I just…the distance…this is easier." _

"_Sam, but what if I don't care about the distance or what's easier? I like you. I mean, I love you. We can make this work. It's not that hard," he said pleadingly. _

"_Why are you such a nub?" she asked, laughing slightly, which surprised Freddie since laughing was the last thing he seemed capable of doing at the moment._

"_Sam, why are you laughing? This is serious chizz. This is our future."_

_Sam gave a wary smile before speaking up in a false tone of Puckett bravado. _

"_And that's just it. You're…you. Mr. Serious. Mr. 'let's map out our ten year plan'. I'm me. I'm a mess. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I want to do. I don't know where I want to go. I…look, you're going to go to some expensive school for smart super nerds like you. When you're there, I'm sure you'll meet some female version of you and fall deeply in love. You'll get married and get big time jobs where you make millions. You'll live in a pretty manicured house with a white picket fence. Your kids will do ballet and baseball which your wife will drive them to in a high-end beige minivan, and every Sunday night you'll have sappy family dinners while you all wear sweater vests and khakis." _

_She laughed, now breathing slightly heavy. There was a sadness in her eyes that betrayed her laughter._

"_And it'll be perfect. But that's your life Freddie, not mine. I don't want you hanging around Seattle or whatever waiting for me to figure out what the chizz I'm doing. I don't know. I don't. And just…don't let me get in the way. You may be a nerd extraordinaire and a grade a nub, but you've got good things going for you."_

"_But what if that's not what I want? Sam, I want to be with you. I don't get why this is so hard for you to grasp. Haven't we been through this already?" Freddie asked, exasperated, as his mind wandered back to the first time she'd broken up with him. She had thought she wasn't good enough for him. He thought he'd made her believe that that wasn't true at all. He thought they'd gotten over this._

_Yet again he'd thought wrong._

"_Look nub, just stop. I like you, okay? I like you, a lot. Maybe I even kinda, sorta love you. But, this isn't high school anymore. Maybe it's just best we, ya know…" she didn't have a chance to finish her sentence because Freddie had grabbed her and was kissing her passionately. He wrapped his arms around her tight, as if trying to keep her from slipping away, like he felt her doing now. He didn't want this to be over. He didn't want her to leave and he knew no other way to convince her of it than this. It had worked before…that night at the mental hospital, that night on the fire escape when he'd first told her he loved her._

_She pulled away. That had never happened before._

"_Stop making this harder that it needs be, dammnit…" she gulped. "Just…I'm leaving on Saturday. I'll be at Carly's in the morning before I go."_

_And without another look back she stepped through the window and into the hall of Bushwell plaza. Freddie's mind, though somewhat numb, couldn't help but be reminded of a very similar night when he and Sam had first kissed. She'd left him sitting there in a daze, just as she had now. But there was a naïveté that he had held then that he didn't anymore. Back then, he'd had the possibility of endless time to work things out, to figure out what the kiss had meant, to figure out what she meant to him. They had all the time in the world. She wasn't going anywhere._

_But that wasn't the case anymore._

_Sam left that Saturday morning. Carly was a wreck of tears and high-pitched squeals of "you better write Sam…or send me a postcard…or call…or at least text me….or better yet visit me,"…followed by more tears._

_Freddie stood back for the most part, cautious and anxious, a sadness growing in the pit of his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to walk right up to her and tell her rather firmly, "You're not going." He also knew that he would probably be responded to with a knee to the groin if he dared to stand in her way, so he decided against it. When Sam Puckett wanted to do something, she did it. All others be damned. He still couldn't believe she was leaving though. Just like that. Leaving everything she'd ever known…leaving him for…well, as far as he could tell, bacon. He was being left for bacon. Oh the irony._

_He and Carly drove her to the train station across town. (She had decided her first stop would be Nevada. She had a cousin out there who'd offered her a place to crash for a few days. He was a plant supervisor at a fat cake factory. Sam was sold instantly.) Again, Carly was a mess of tears and squeals ("Oh come on, Carls, I'm not dying. Stock your apartment with plenty of ham, I'll be in town eventually," Sam said consolingly with a smile.) When Freddie stepped forward to hug Sam goodbye he pulled her tightly into him and kissed her lightly on her forehead, temporarily forgetting the awkwardness that had plagued him all morning. _

"_Oh come on, Fredward lets not make this moment more sappy than it needs to be," she joked, but he could see the vague sadness in her eyes._

"_Here," Freddie said, pulling a folded plain white envelope out of his pocket and handing it to her._

"_What is this?"_

"_A letter," he smirked._

"_No duh dork. What's it for?" _

"_Read it. But not now. Later. When you need it," Freddie replied _

"_When I need it? Need what? What are you rambling about?" Sam asked getting vaguely exasperated._

"_Take care of yourself, Sam. You know, I am on the same coast as your sister and Carly. Visit me?" He said simply, ignoring her question._

"_I suppose, nub," she replied with a smirk before hugging him again. _

_With that, she picked up her bags and walked towards the entrance of the train station. Sam gave one quick glance back at Carly and Freddie, an eager yet sad smile on her face. She mouthed the words "Love you guys", before disappearing into the white light of the building's interior._

* * *

><p>It'd been three months since that day and he hadn't seen Sam since. He'd heard from her a few weeks ago, but their contact was growing increasingly sporadic. Initially, their conversation was rather consistent. They sent each other silly messages back and forth about random things they knew no one else would care about. On one of his first nights at school, he'd gone to a restaurant in town that served a meatball the size of your plate. He'd taken a picture of it and sent it to her with the message, "This has Sam Puckett written all over it." She'd replied with, "When I'm in town, you're paying. :P". A few days later Sam sent Freddie a picture of herself with a man dressed in a nug nug costume, make-up and all. Apparently she'd met him wandering Las Vegas. Attached to the picture was the message, "Reminded me of you. The resemblance is uncanny."<p>

But that had been a few months ago and now their contact was growing progressively infrequent. Freddie still texted and called her, but he never knew when he would be able to get a hold of her.

"Bbbbbzzzzzzzz."

Freddie was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his cell phone buzzing on his nightstand. His heart sped as he picked it up, hoping it was a message from Sam. His eyes scanned the screen of his pear phone. His heart dropped slightly.

"Message from: Sarah"

Sarah was a girl he'd met during his first week of classes. She'd helped him find his way to one of the dining halls at lunch after he'd gotten rather embarrassingly lost.

In the first 2 hours of meeting her, he'd essentially learned her life story. Not that he had asked, she'd just sort of started talking and never stopped. Sarah, a slim brunette, with deep green eyes and a tiny upturned nose, was from California. Her parents had their own start up tech company. It'd been set from the day she was born that she would go to MIT like both of her parents. In truth, she'd actually wanted to take a year off and join the Peace Corp. She still planned to do it one day. She had two sisters and a cat named Mr. Nug. She was the first normal seeming girl Freddie had ever met who was a big fan of Galaxy Wars.

Freddie read the message:

"Galaxy Wars marathon. Channel 23. You're welcome."

Freddie laughed, though still somewhat disappointed it hadn't been a message from Sam. He set his phone back on his nightstand and picked up the remote to his TV, turning to channel 23. He picked up his laptop, about to close it, when he stopped. He stared at the smiling Sam still paused on the screen in front of him.

He picked up his cell phone yet again and sent Sam a message.

"Watching a Galaxy Wars marathon. It is still my life's goal to get you to watch all eight movies the whole way through (without you falling asleep.) One of these days, Puckett."

Freddie returned his gaze to the TV in front of him, not really expecting a response.

A few seconds later his phone buzzed yet again. Another message. This time from Sam.

"You want me to watch them? Well, let me in, nub."

With that, there was a loud thump on the door.

* * *

><p>AN:

1. I got the idea for this fic when my ipod's shuffle decided to play "Comfortable" by John Mayer followed immediately by "Wish You Were Here" by Avril Lavigne. *Nudge, wink*

2. I've always seen a post-high school Sam as the wandering type, hence the story title and Sam's well...wandering. I've never seen her as the type to go to college right after high school. I think it's much more likely that she'd travel the country on a trail of food and Freddie Benson, no?

3. This is my attempt at a multi-chapter. I would LOVE some feedback because I mostly just do one shots and multi-chapters are a whole different beast for me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **You know how it goes. I don't own iCarly.

Freddie jumped out of bed, nearly knocking his laptop over in the process. The pounding on the door was growing gradually louder as he made his way through the dark apartment. He nearly tripped on the sofa as he crossed the living room.

"OPEN UP FREDDORK!" Sam yelled from the other side of the door.

Freddie opened the door to find Sam standing in front of him, grinning widely. Her long blonde hair now reached near her waist and lay in an unruly fashion over her shoulders. She was wearing an old t-shirt and jeans, her checkered red and black book bag hung over her shoulder.

"Took you long enough," she laughed as she pushed past him and stepped into the apartment. "So, this is your place? Hmm…well at least it's a step up from that place Lewbert rented you years ago. That was a dump. This is a little better."

"Well, I'm glad it meets your standards Princess Puckett," Freddie joked. His mind was in a daze. One minute he'd been lamenting over their lack of communication and the next thing he knew she was standing in his apartment, as sarcastic and as beautiful as ever.

He loved this. He loved having her here. He loved her nicknames for him. He loved their banter. He loved her. Still.

"So, since I'm crashing he-," Sam began but was cut off by Freddie's roommate, Chad, as he stumbled groggily into the room.

"What's going on?" he mumbled. Chad was tall with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. There was a suaveness about him that Freddie couldn't help but envy. He vaguely reminded him of a boy Carly had once dated. Girls seemed to fall for him left, right, and center. Rarely was there a night where he wasn't out with one girl or another.

"Uhmm…This is my gir…my friend. This is my friend Sam." Freddie corrected himself. He couldn't help that he had almost called her his girlfriend. It was habit, not to mention he still wished it were true.

"Oh yeah, you're that hot blonde from iCarly," Chad's face lit up with realization. Chad had admitted to watching iCarly on occasion, but his knowledge of the show was still rather limited, which Freddie hadn't really minded. If anything, he kind of liked his roommate's lack of knowledge or interest in iCarly. He'd lost track of the number of times during his first week at school that he'd been greeted with, "Oh, hey! It's that iCarly kid."

At Chad's words, Freddie felt a strange feeling that started in the pit of his stomach and reached his chest.

"Yeah. That'd be mama," Sam said, a smirk playing across her lips as she pointed at herself.

There was a glint in Chad's eyes as he stared at Sam that made Freddie uncomfortable. He felt that strange feeling in his stomach intensify.

"Uhmm…you were going to say something, Sam?" Freddie stated, attempting to tear Chad's attention (and eyes) away from Sam.

"Oh yeah. Since I'm crashing here tonight, I need to borrow some stuff to sleep in. Do you mind?"

"I-"

"Of course you don't, Freddly. Of course you don't," Sam replied confidently.

Freddie couldn't help but laugh. "There's some old t-shirts in the top drawer of my dresser. Down the hall, first door on the right."

Sam made her way out of the room, Chad eyeing her closely as she did so.

Once Sam was out of earshot, Chad whispered quietly.

"So, you and Sam…just friends?"

Freddie wanted nothing more that to tell him that no, he and Sam were not just friends. He and Sam hadn't been just friends in ages, nor did he think they would ever be "just friends" again.

But instead he simply muttered, "Something like that…"

"So…you wanna hook me up? She's hot. I like her confidence," Chad said still eyeing the direction in which Sam had gone.

Freddie felt that strange feeling in his stomach and chest strengthen. He couldn't shake the irrational desire he now had to set Chad straight, to let him know that Sam was his, to let him know that Sam was in love with him and he shouldn't even bother. But he didn't.

"You're not really her type," Freddie said, attempting to hide the bite in his tone.

"Shoot man, what is her type? For a girl like that'd I'd be anything, ya know?" he said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

It took all of Freddie's strength not to wipe the mockingly smug look off of Chad's face.

Freddie was quiet for a minute before finally speaking up.

"She's difficult," Freddie said quietly, hoping that it'd be enough to deter Chad's interest. He purposely left out the part about how Sam's difficulty was part of what made him love her so much, that her difficulty was part of what made her so amazing. Chad didn't need to know that her difficulty was, in fact, a good thing.

"Good. I like a challenge," Chad smirked.

"I have to go check on Sam," Freddie said stonily as he left the room. He had no desire to continue the conversation.

"Don't forget man. Hook me up!" Freddie heard Chad say as he left the room.

Hook him up? Freddie laughed bitterly. Yeah, right.

"Hey Sam, can I come in?" Freddie asked somewhat apprehensively as he reached the door to his room.

"Oh no, Freddie. I'm not decent yet," Sam joked as she opened the door. "Duh. Of course you can come in, nub."

She was wearing one of Freddie's Penny-T's. It was maroon with the words "Parole Baby" emblazoned across the chest in yellow.

How appropriate, Freddie thought. Though the shirt fit snug on Freddie's large frame, it hung loosely over Sam's tiny one, which Freddie couldn't help but find cute. If he didn't think Sam would punch him in the arm for saying it, he'd have told her how cute she looked. She had on a pair of old shorts she must have brought with her, that caused Freddie to stare a second too long.

"Take a picture dork. It'll last longer," Sam laughed.

"I-uh…I wasn't…" Freddie stuttered.

"Let it go, Freddly. Just let it go. So, about this Galaxy Wars marathon? I'm willing to give it a go, but just tonight because I'm feeling rather generous."

"Well gee thanks, Puckett. You're too kind."

"I know," she smiled knowingly.

Sam made her way to Freddie's bed. She lay down on her stomach and propped herself up with her elbows, resting her head in her hands. Freddie couldn't help put notice that she looked vaguely like a little kid getting ready to watch Saturday morning cartoons. Again he wanted to tell her how cute she looked. He, of course, decided against it.

"So, are we doing this or not nub? Hurry up before I change my mind," she said impatiently.

And in an instant the innocence and naïveté was gone, replaced by her typically brash, though still endearing, Puckett exterior.

Freddie sat down at the foot of the bed next to Sam. He grabbed the remote and turned the volume up on the TV.

They were silent for a while as the movie played out on the screen. Occasionally, Sam would ask a question or crack some sort of joke, but other then that they said nothing. Admittedly, Freddie had a ton of questions he wanted to ask her. He wanted to know where she'd been, if she was doing okay, where she was going next, etc, but he figured he'd ask them tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow, because he had time. For the first time in a long time, they had time.

Freddie found himself looking over at Sam every now and then. He told himself it was just to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep, but he knew that wasn't true. Here she was. Here was the girl he was in love with and had been for a while now. Here she was after he'd gone days, months without seeing her.

Suddenly, Freddie felt the weight of Sam's head on his shoulder. He looked to see if she'd fallen asleep. She hadn't. She'd simply rested her head on his shoulder. Freddie couldn't help but instantly be reminded of another time when that had happened. It felt like ages ago. They were in the Shay's apartment watching dance video submissions for iCarly. Freddie had felt Sam's head on his shoulder. For a second he'd thought it felt nice, having someone, a girl, resting on him like that. Then he'd realized it was Sam and awkwardness overtook him. She hated him and he hated her. Why was she laying on him like that? It was weird and awkward and Freddie quickly shook her off. He'd never have admitted it at the time, but deep down he'd wished it hadn't been weird. He'd wished they could have stayed like that.

Freddie smiled at the thought and stared back at Sam. She was here, next to him. He was overcome with the sudden rush to ask Sam if they could try again, if she'd be willing to be his girlfriend again.

"Sam, I was won-?

Bzzzzzz.

Freddie was cut off by the buzzing of his phone. He couldn't remember where he'd left it. It was probably on his bed somewhere.

Before he could look for it, he saw that Sam had found it and was now holding it rather curiously in her hands. There was a playful and malicious glint in her eyes.

"Well, well, well, what do we have hear?" she joked.

"I don't know. I'm sure it's nobody," Freddie brushed off.

"Well, let's see what this nobody has to say. Probably one of your new nerd friends wanting to do some nerd bonding," Sam laughed.

_"Message from: Sarah,"_ Sam read and Freddie could swear that for a second he saw her smile falter.

"Uh, Sam. It's nothing. Let's just watch the movie."

It was too late. Sam was now reading the message.

"_Want to go to the Galaxy Wars fan convention in December with me? Nug-nug will be there. You know how much I've always wanted to get an autographed picture with him. :P," _

Sam made a point to stop and sigh dramatically. "Awww, nerdbonding. How cute," she joked.

She continued reading. _"BTW Freddie, you still owe me for last night. Big time. Dessert was amazing, no? ;) Just make sure there's enough whipped cream next time. haha Is tomorrow night good for you? You know it's always good for me. ;) "_

There was a flash, so quick that if Freddie hadn't been staring so intently at her he would have missed it, of upset and anger on Sam's face. Seconds later it was replaced with an unreadable expression.

"Should have figured even nubs like you could score here," she joked, but there was an unmistakable bitterness to her tone.

Freddie stared confusedly at Sam. Score? What? What was she talking about?

Oh…

"Sam, no. That's not what you think. I-We-Sarah's just a friend. We didn't-" Freddie sputtered.

"No thanks. Spare me the details, nub," Sam said, again in that familiar false tone of Puckett bravado.

"But—"

Sam cut Freddie off again with a loud and overdramatic yawn.

"I'm going to bed," she said as she stood up and made her way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Freddie asked confused.

"Seriously, I think you need to get your hearing checked kid. I said 'I'm going to bed.'"

"But, what about the movie and I mean you can sleep here if you want. I'll-" Freddie rambled.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take the couch."

Freddie got up from the bed and reached out to touch Sam's shoulder. He was greeted with an Indian burn to his arm.

"Going. To. Bed. Fredward," she said before letting go of his arm and leaving the room.

Freddie stood in the dark of his room, confusion and annoyance racing through him.

That stupid text message. It hadn't been what Sam had thought. Not at all. Freddie had gone with a group of friends and Sarah to get some dinner at a dining hall on campus. He'd forgotten his wallet. Sarah had paid. They'd had this really good coconut cream pie for dessert (which ironically enough had made him think of Sam) and he'd accidentally used the last of whipped cream, leaving none for Sarah. He said he'd pay her back by buying her dinner the next time they and their friends all grabbed some dinner.

That was it. That was all it was. A stupid text about dinner. Who in the world could make a text about dinner sound so...innuendo-y? Freddie sighed.

Why would Sam even think he'd…He and Sam hadn't even and he was in love with her. Did Sam really think that little of him? Ugh this was a mess. He just wanted things to be simple. He wanted to tell her he still loved her and that he wanted them to try and make things work between them, distance and misunderstood text messages be damned.

But he should have known, nothing with Sam Puckett would ever be easy.

Groggily he made his way back to his bed. He turned off the TV and threw the remote onto the nightstand next to him.

He decided, rather angrily, that he was never letting a girl by him dinner ever again.

* * *

><p>Last night had been a disaster, Freddie thought as he lay in bed, the sun now peaking in through the blinds of the window. But Freddie had known Sam long enough to know exactly how to make things right.<p>

He'd take her to breakfast. Food solved everything with her. Always.

Groggily he made his way out of his room and into the living room, expecting to see a tired Sam sprawled out on the couch. Instead, he was greeted by an empty living room. Her bag was gone, as were her shoes. There was no sign she'd ever even been there. Suddenly, Chad walked into the apartment.

"Hey man, thanks for hooking me up."

"What?" Freddie asked confused.

"Sam. Thanks for hooking me up man."

Freddie felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Where's Sam?" Freddie asked nervously.

"Oh, she left."

"She left?"

"Yeah. I took her to breakfast and then dropped her off at the bus stop. Then she left. Man, did you know that girl can eat? I think she ate like, ten stacks of pancakes. Dude, I love a girl with an appetite. Oh and she said if she was ever in town again I'd have to take her to that Italian place with the giant, plate sized meatballs. I'll take that as her way of asking for a second date," Chad blathered on obliviously.

She'd left. She'd just up and left and let some random guy take her to breakfast. He was going to take her to breakfast. What was her problem? She didn't even let him explain. Besides, hadn't she been the one to break up with him. Technically, he was at liberty to date or "score" with anyone he wished. Granted, he didn't actually want to date or "score" with anyone but her, nor had the thought ever crossed his mind, but Sam had no right to be upset. This was especially true since the reason she was upset hadn't even happened.

"Did…did she say anything about where she was going or about me?" Freddie asked apprehensively.

"Not really. She asked about Sarah some though."

Freddie's heart stopped.

"What'd you say?" he asked, now holding his breath.

"Oh, just that everyone and their mom knows you two are mad into each other and will probably end up engaged by the time we graduate. You know that's what everyone says about you two behind your back, right? Anyways, she asked if you guys were together or whatever. I said I didn't know, but you might as well be. Ya know, I kind of envy ya man. Don't get me wrong, I like playing the field, but it's got to be pretty sweet to already have found one you're set on. Props to ya dude."

Freddie was speechless. Literally. He wasn't "mad into" Sarah. She was a friend. That was it. Yeah, they spent a lot of time together, but that was because she was a friend. A good friend. He spent a lot of time with his friends. Good friends. Could girls and guys not be just good friends? Engaged? What? No. This was all wrong. All wrong.

And why was Chad such a blithering idiot?

"Oh, and she wanted me to give you this."

Chad handed Freddie a plain envelope, much like the one Freddie had given Sam the day she'd left Seattle.

"What is it?" Freddie asked.

"Beats me. Girl is a mystery. I like it though," Chad laughed as he made his way out of the living room and down the hall.

Freddie stared at the folded letter in his hands. He noticed that it was covered in grease stains, various sauces, and a fresh coat of sticky syrupy fingerprints. Freddie couldn't help but smile inwardly at the reminder of Sam.

He then turned it over and saw 'Sam' written on the front in his own handwriting. Then it hit him. This was the letter he'd given to her. It was unopened. She hadn't read the letter.

Why hadn't she read it? Why was she giving it back without reading it?

Suddenly, he noticed there was writing on the bottom corner in Sam's own messy scrawl.

"_Congrats on finding the female version of you. Hope she likes khaki and high-end beige mini-vans._

_P.S. When you two get married, can I call you Mr. & Mrs. Nub?"_

In tiny writing at the very bottom of the envelope, Sam had written something else and attempted to haphazardly cross it out with her pencil, though she hadn't been all that successful.

Freddie could just barely make it out.

"_I told you this would happen."_


End file.
